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Pocket Me!

BOYU YAN

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Boyu Yan is a London-based jewellery designer and maker. I approach the act of processing complex information as a repetitive practice that generates creative insight. In my work, wearability is treated as a reflective method of documentation.

Boyu Yan is a London-based jewellery designer and maker. I approach the act of processing complex...

Boyu’s reimagination of pockets is built upon her conviction that “Pockets can be worn as jewellery”. Through using chainmail to fabricate shimmering metal silhouettes of womenswear pockets, her collection delicately deconstructs the transition from function to decoration. Drawing on metallic colouring (anodising, oxidising) to garment-building techniques, Boyu reinvents the shape, colour and scale of pockets within a decoratively wearable context. By playing with their measurements and placements, she challenges the restrictions of today’s dressing norms. In redefining the ornamentality of the pocket, her work create a liberated exploration between the relationship of body, clothing, and the role of jewellery.

Interpretative text by Fiona (Qiongyue) Hu, BA (Hons) Culture, Criticism and Curation

Final work

  • A two-finger ring that mimics the coin pocket on women's jeans.
  • A patch pocket–shaped brooch that mimics the pattern of women's striped T-shirts.
  • A three-finger ring that mimics the coin pocket on women's jeans.
  • A shield-shaped brooch that mimics white women's workwear T-shirt.
  • A front pocket–shaped brooch that mimics a men’s Burberry shirt.
  • A silver shield-shaped brooch that mimics a black women's workwear T-shirt.
  • A tartan flap brooch that mimics a women's tartan jacket.
  • A four-finger ring that mimics the coin pocket on women's jeans.
  • A front pocket–shaped brooch that mimics a men’s T-shirt.

Research and process

An experimental process that translates pocket stitching details through chainmail.

1. In-seam pocket construction, referenced from [Skills Institute Press (2011). Pockets. Fox Chapel Publishing.]

2.- 3. Sample 1 and Sample 2: Using jump rings on chainmail to visualise pocket stitching details

3. Coin pocket construction [Skills Institute Press (2011). Pockets. Fox Chapel Publishing.]

4. Sample 3 and Sample 4: Visualising pocket stitching details by attaching jump rings one by one

5. Sample 5: Using a single row of jump rings to attach two pieces of chainmail

6. Sample 6: Using a single row of jump rings in varying thicknesses to attach two pieces of chainmail

7. Slant-front pocket construction [Skills Institute Press (2011). Pockets. Fox Chapel Publishing.]

The making process of the two-finger ring.

1. A 4mm chainmail piece is a attached to a 3.4mm panel, leaving an approximately 0.5mm gap. This is for testing the tightness and stability of the structural fit.

2. A rough model on hand to evaluate the wearability of the piece.

3.–4. Stitching details made by attaching jump rings are added to the model, transferring the typical yellow topstitching found on denim pockets. 

5. By repositioning the jump rings, a curved edge is formed (shown before assembly).

6. A coin pocket-shaped sample featuring a curved edge after assembly, with added button detail to enhance its recognisability

7.–8. In-progress ring design using thicker, larger gold-plated and gold-filled jump rings to emphasise the material contrast between denim and stitching.

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Pocket Me!

Boyu’s reimagination of pockets is built upon her conviction that “Pockets can be worn as jewellery”. Through using chainmail to fabricate shimmering metal silhouettes of womenswear pockets, her collection delicately deconstructs the transition from function to decoration. Dra...

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